seriously

what's with all this journal business

2011-11-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

i love journals. i love to journal. i always have. i've always written in some form or fashion. poetry, journaling, prayers, doodles, lists - i just love to put a pen to paper and see what happens. right after high school i had a series of journals that i filled almost daily for about 3 years. if something wasn't in those journals, it didn't happen - in my head, at least! also during that time a friend and i started doing "i believes". we each had book filled with things we believed - pretty much just a list, but they spanned from serious to silly and philosophical to funny.

a couple of years ago i saw on the internet where someone was taking paper and fabric and recovering journals. i made a couple for myself and then some for gifts - and i was pretty much hooked. this past january i took an online course on art techniques and journaling that i talked about here and since then i have been exploring the many. many ways of art journaling. i love the idea of doing art "for my eyes only" and i really feel like i've gotten more confidence to do other artsy things through some of the things i have done in my art journal.

right now i have three journals "going". one is the first journal that i embellished a few years ago - i write all kinds of things in there - prayers, lists, ideas, and just general stuff about what's going on. i also have my art journal. this is the one that i started in january during the class. i paint in it, mod podge paper, fabric and other things in it, i write and draw and collage - pretty much anything goes in this book! i love that it won't close all the way. i love that there are "blank" pages that i have painted or mod podged a background on, but haven't completely filled up - i will get to them!!

this is the other one:

(pardon the bad cell phone pics)

this is one that i covered just last week, and i really liked it, so i kept it for myself instead of adding to my stash to sell.

simple, solid colored fabric (in fact the blue is actually a napkin that i got for .25 at a Dillard's that was going out of business in St. Louis). the inside pages of the journal have yellow circles on them, so the yellow dot ribbon works perfectly. this book is my "sunshine" book. only happy things inside.

just planning to fill it with happy words of inspiration, scripture, songs, etc. and when i'm having a gray day, i can open this and get little dose of sunshine!

if you want to journal - do it!! there is no right or wrong way to do it. do what works for you. paint, write, draw, cut pictures out of magazines, whatever!! it really is theraputic!! there are tons of blogs with journaling tips and prompts to help you get going if you are new to journaling or are stuck. go to pinterest.com and search "journal" or "art journal" and there sure to be more than enough results!

do you journal? how?

kacymade

2011-11-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

i FINALLY got it in gear and started my craft business. it actually happened officially on Sept. 14 - when i opened my shop on etsy.com. then on Oct. 15 - i was part of an open house, which was my first actual event. it went really well, and i sold quite a bit of the stuff i made - and i've continued to sell over the last few weeks.

what i am selling right now are paper and fabric covered journals, pleated tote bags and painted/collaged canvases with words, scripture or songs on them. i think i am most surprised at how well the canvases sold, especially since including them in the shop was kind of after thought because i had found the canvases on sale at Michael's a couple of months ago.

here's what i like about having this business thing so far:
- i have an excuse to craft everyday! last week i went days without making anything and i kind of started shaking a little bit...i. need. to. craft.
- so many people that i love have supported me for a long time, have encouraged me to do this, and are supporting me in it. it makes me feel loved.
- i am using up (slowly but surely) the completely inappropriate amount of scrapbook paper i own.
- as i told a friend of mine after the first show "people are paying real money for crap i made!"
-did i mention crafting everyday - yeah - that's a good thing!

here's what i don't necessarily like about this business thing so far:
- the "what if no one likes it?" thing that constantly runs through my head.
- feeling like any second i am not crafting i am wasting - even when i stay up until 11 and 12 most nights.
- not selling anything on etsy yet. i plan to really dig into that after my next two events are over - we'll see!
- so many ideas, so little time (always a struggle for me)

all in all, i am very excited that i have taken this step. i am thankful for the people in my life who encourage me along the way. i am anxious to see what God has in store for kacymade - and just enjoying creating =)

a math problem

2011-07-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

the land of the free

2011-06-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

As I was reading Tatertots and Jello the other day, I came across this really cute idea for a 4th of July decoration.

Isn't that cute!?! She used a personal letter as the background and a map for the stars. So neat!

I liked it so much, I decided to make a version for my house:

I found an image of the Declaration of Independence on the web and faded it out a little. Then I just put the text over the image and printed it out. I used my Creative Memories star punch for the stars and just sewed them right on the paper. My background is just some rippled paper I had on hand with the red paper Mod Podged on that. I had the frame left from this party, and I just painted it white.

Here you can see how the stars stand out from the paper - so festive!

Happy 4th of July!

for the love of a chair

2011-06-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

A few Friday nights ago I started a project that I've had in my head for a long time...and it involved this:

and some of these...

and this:

and tearing off lots of this stuff.

You see, I've had this chair for several years (it was my Grandmother's, and one of the great pieces I got when she passed away). I remember the chair always being in her bedroom. Those green striped things up there - well, those are part of the chair, and that's the original fabric - great, right? It's very soft, almost plush, and it just reminds me of my Nanny.

When I moved into my condo, I wanted to have it recovered to match my living room. That's what the gold and red fabric is. I have to be honest, I never loved it that way.

A while back, I found a remnant of fabric at Brentwood Interiors (half off because it was already cut), and I immediately thought it would work for the chair, which by then was living in my bedroom.

So I finally got the nerve up to tackle this. And here is the finished product:

The tearing apart was some serious manual labor, but it wasn't difficult. The painting was easy, and actually all of the fabric that was attached to chair was not bad at all.

I had two problems:

1. Piping - not hard to make, but very hard for me to sew correctly.

2. The Cushion - see this curve?

and how it fits around the chair back there....that was some tedious stuff, right there!!

Don't look to closely, it is so very far from perfect (in fact the more I look at this picture, the more I realize I want to go back and see if I can make that piping look better), but I'm glad it's re-covered, and I look forward to making this little corner of my room a place where I can sit and read, do Bible study, and pray.

And I'm happy to say I love this chair again!!

I'm linking up to:

my not bummer summer

2011-06-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I totally stole that title from this movie (which looks cute, by the way!)

In this post I mentioned that I didn't have any special plans for the summer. Since then, summer fun lists have been popping up in the blogosphere like cicada posts on facebook - and that's a lot! Understandably, most of these lists are for children who are out of school for the summer, but who says kids get to have all the fun!?! So - I came up with a list of my own, and I've posted it up for all to see, so there's no going back now!

Here ya go:

Girls Night - dinner and movie

Dinner Party at my house

Day Trip(s) - I've already taken one with Mel a couple of weeks ago to Louisville (much fun!), but I have a couple more in the works.

Weekend Trip to the Beach

Beach Theme Party

Scrapping/Crafting Weekend(s) - I have this one for sure planned already, but I would really like to set aside some chunks of time to work on a couple of other projects.

Make Pajama Pants - this has been on my mental to do list for some time, but I'm terrified of making clothes for some reason. I got a bunch of fabric at a sale last summer and I have perfect piece for some pj pants, so I'm going to try it out!

Take in some Sights of Nashville - I'm thinking the Frist, Hatch Show Print, exploring the "new" East Nashville, and maybe even a Segway Tour of Downtown.

Take "my kids" bowling, skating, and/or a movie - just hang out with the cool kids I love =)

Read some Summer Books - I've gotten into listening to audio books, and I really miss actually holding a book and getting lost in it for a while. I found the first book in the Dorthea Benton Frank "Lowcountry" Series at McKay's this past weekend, so I'm starting there!!

So, there you have it! And in the words of Judy Moody herself:

"I want more thrills - you can't have a not bummer summer without them!"

the bags

2011-06-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

i've been wanting to post this for a while, but wanted to wait until all of the graduates had gotten their bags. all but one have been received, and i hope to get that one to her on sunday.

just to recap - the girls picked out the fabrics and the pattern of bag they wanted. i am pretty pleased with how they turned out.

this is ashley's. this pattern was a bit tricky - that curved part of the band was a bit tougher than i thought it would be!! this was actually the second of this pattern i did, so it went much faster than the first. i love the way it turned out!

they all look wrinkly (is that a word?) on the inside because when you make a bag that's lined, you have to sew the top part together with the whole thing wrong side out, then you have to turn it. since there is stabilizer ironed to back of the fabric, that turning process makes it all wrinkly. it has been my experience that once the bag is used for a while those wrinkles will smooth out.

this is allison's bag - same pattern as above.

close up of the button and evidence of the trouble i had stitching that darn curve =\

i love the girliness of the outside and then the playfulness of the peace signs inside. that button was a fluke find, and i think it works perfect!

this one is kausha's - as her mom was able to identify just from the fabric pics!

this is the bag that i have made previously, the amy butler birdie sling pattern.

this is a big, roomy bag.

another birdie sling bag - this one shannon's - the music girl!

she will be able to fit all kinds of college stuff in there!!

this is kayla's - the only one i haven't delivered. i have to say, pattern-wise, this is my favorite - the one i would most like to make for myself. it's a big bag, also, and could be used for a tote or a purse. there is a cute band on the top that comes to a point where the button is - another new thing for me was making that point, but i like the way it turned out!

five fun bags for five awesome girls!!

i will miss having them around all the time, but i know they are going to do great things in college and beyond!

ready for some summer fun

2011-05-28T09:18:00.001-07:00

I don't have any big vacation plans this summer, but I'm still ready for those lazy summer days and all they bring. Longer days, holidays, eating dinner outside (once the cicadas are gone), garage sales, and a little crafting, of course! I whipped this up the other night to get my house in the mood for summer fun!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.9

this whole "marathon" thing

2011-04-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

so, i'm doing this on saturday:

the half part. not the full - i'm not totally dilusional.

so we'll be walking

miles.

and i'm actually excitied about it!

this all came about back in january when janna suggested that we do this as a way to honor Thomas and be more heart healthy. i thought this would be a great way to honor Thomas and Clinton.

we started training in january, following a plan by hal higdon.

on that cold day in january, melissa and i took our first steps to training for the half marathon by walking 3 miles. it was so cold that day, and i was sure i'd never make it.

there have been many many walks since then. our last long walk was this past weekend, and my mom and i walked 10 miles. it was a slow one, but i felt like i could have done 3 more miles. according to the application on my phone i use to track mileage, i've walked over 120 miles. if you had told me i would have been doing this a year ago, i would have laughed in your face. i just don't do stuff like this!!

there have been several points during this journey, while i was walking, and while i was hurting from walking, that i thought "there is no way. i won't ever be able to finish this." i have prayed about it a lot, and often when i am walking i just beg God to keep me upright and help my feet keep moving. and so far he has shown grace by allowing me to finish the training, and still be going.

i also think about Thomas and Clinton a lot. all they have been through, and all their families have been through - and i then i know i can do this. for them. many times while Thomas was in the hospital and since his passing, and since Clinton was diagnosed a year and a half ago, i have wished i could take the hurt and pain away, and while the only thing i can do about that is pray and be there for my friends, i can show my support for these two amazing boys and their families in this very tangible way.

so when (not if) i cross the finish line on saturday, it will be for Clinton and Thomas, and it will be by the grace of God!!

felt flowers

2011-04-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

these little cuties have been all over blog land, so i guess i'm a little slow on the uptake, but i finally got around to making some. and you can too!! so easy.

just grab some felt and cut out 4 circle the same size, and one that is little smaller that those.

take each larger circle and put a little dot of hot glue in the middle and fold it in half. (if you have a low temp setting on your glue gun, that helps cut down on the burning of the finger tips.)

then glue and fold again.then glue your little quarter circle pieces to the smaller circle. then, you're almost done....just pick out a fun button and plop it right in the middle and you have a cute little felt flower!

add it to a scrapbook page, glue it to a pin and put it on your purse or hat...i put this one in my journal. how fun would it be to make a set and glue magnets to the back...you could have a flower garden right on your fridge!

just call me the bag lady

2011-04-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

i'm in the process of making 5 bags for the graduating girls at church. i made one last year, and it was pretty easy since katie, who the bag was for, loves cows. so i got some cow print fabric and whipped that one right up. this year, there are 5 girls i wanted to make bags for. so the deal was they had to pick out the fabric - that was just a little too much decision making for my feeble brain! and look what they picked out - so impressed, and excited to be making these bags for some awesome girls!!

i think they did a wonderful job!! i am about half way through making the bags, so i think i will have no problem getting them done by graduation - i hope =)

fabric covered journals - would you pay for one of these?

2011-04-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

i saw a version of these on a blog sometime last year, and i was hooked. i love journals and i love fabric, so i figured i couldn't go wrong.

i did these first ones for my girls at church for Christmas. they are composition books and i used mod podge to attach the fabric. i love the way they look, but i wasn't crazy about the way they felt with the mod podge. they were a bit rough, but i think they will hold up well.

i love the ribbons on this one. i just think that turned out really well.

this one is covered in a corderoy napkin, and i didn't cover the outside with mod podge, so it is softer than the others.

i made this one for my boss for her birthday this week. she has been pestering me since i made the others to make her one, and i think it turned out really well.

i used spray glue to attach the fabric this time, and i like the results much better. although i love mod podge for lots of things, spray glue just worked better this time. the drying time is lots less and you can feel the texture of the fabric.

this shot shows the texture on the front a little better, i sewed some pleats into a strip of fabric and then sewed kind of a ruffle on top of that, then used hot glue to attach the whole thing.

also, this one is a "real" journal that you might find in a stationary store, or whatever. i got a ton of them last december from a stationary company a friend of mine works for - which leads to the question above....

would you pay for one of these? i am thinking very seriously about opening an etsy shop and selling journals like these. just wanted to see what people think.

are you a brave girl?

2011-02-02T20:25:00.000-08:00

i discovered brave girls club about 6 months ago through one of the many blogs that i read. i was originally attracted to the fun graphics and the happy atmosphere on the main page. this is what "they" have to say about the site:"they" are kathy wilkins and melody ross. they are beautiful girls who just want to share some of the things they have learned with women everywhere.

they live in idaho and conduct brave girls camp, which looks like a ton of fun to me!! a little out of my price range at the moment, but just looking through the pictures and stories from brave girls who have gone, what an awesome experience that would be!

thankfully they recognized that there were lots and lots of us out there that would love to experience brave girls camp, but could not make it to idaho, so they came up with soul restoration. Click on the photo below for the official sr page.

when i heard that they were offering this online course, i knew it was right up my alley. a little time for some work on myself mentally, and learning a few new art techniques in the process...what's not to love!?! Since the registration started in december, it was a perfect gift to ask for from my mom, and as always, she came through! each time i got an email about the upcoming course i was so excited. i didn't really know what to expect, but the more i read about bgc and what they are about, the more excited i got. i was downright giddy to get the kit that is included in the registration fee. plus there were a few craft items they suggest having on hand, so i ~~got~~ had to go shopping for those!

the course started on jan. 11, so we just started the 4th week ... and it has been great. melody has come up with some great curriculum, wonderful collage sheets to use, an inspirational online community so that participants can go and share triumphs and troubles they have experienced while working through the lessons and projects. she is so genuine, and shares some very hard stuff she has worked though, and some fears of hers, which makes it easier for me to trust what she is saying and get more out of the lessons.

i have had so much fun working on the projects, well, most of them ... they do require looking at some things that can be painful, but it's so good to work though those things. my favorite part, so far, has been the journaling. in the first week melody shared some painting and journaling techniques that have been a lot of fun. i like journaling, but i am not usually very regular about it. since i started this course, i have journaled at least every other day, and sometimes twice a day. it's just more fun when your pages are pretty to look at! i plan to post some pictures of some of my journal pages soon.

so, check out brave girls club, brave girls camp, and soul restoration, because

there is a brave girl in there, and she's got things to do!!

hugs and kisses

2011-02-01T17:07:00.000-08:00

i'm not usually one for decorating for valentine's day, but there have been so many cute ideas floating around blogland i couldn't resist! plus, i went on an impromptu trip to joann's the other night and the wood letters were on sale...as were all the valentine embellishments and other goodies...it was practically meant to be, right?

so this is what i came up with...not much, but it's a start. just a couple of wooden letters painted white, then stripes for the x (using painter's tape) and little dots for the o (using the cap of a pen), a picture frame i had on hand (with a peice of cardstock, painted free-hand), and voila!

right now they are living on the mantle...but after looking at this picture, it's getting kind of crowded up there, so i may move them, but i may not...we'll see!

three boys

2011-01-31T13:47:00.000-08:00

this is a post that i started several months ago. because i was not able to finish it, i have not blogged. it's just been hangning out there, i have thought about it often and some of the details have changed, so i will edit it, but today i will finish this post.

three boys (and their families) have filled my thoughts and prayers the past few months.

these two:

thomas

and james were born on august 28, 2010. they made the mcgregor clan equal 5! they were over 9 weeks early, and spent a little over 6 weeks in hospital growing and getting strong enough to be in this big old world on their own. i prayed for these little guys and john and janna (their mom and dad) and alana (their AWESOME big sister) since before we even knew their were two, and before we knew they were boys. there were some pretty hectic days for them in the hospital and i was ecstatic to get the news that they would be coming home - and even more excited to finally hold them in my arms, and be able to love on them in person.

james and thomas spent about 5 weeks at home until janna and john had to take thomas to vanderbilt with breathing problems. he was diagnosed with a heart defect, spent a month in the PICU, had several surgeries, touched many, many lives, and went home to be with his Heavenly Father on december 10, 2010. janna and john chronicled this time on their blog, here. they did a wonderful job of putting into words a near impossible journey and inspired everyone who read with their faith. if you haven't read it, take some time to, it's totally worth it.

james has had some issues with choking while he's eating and even spent a couple of nights in the hospital with the croup a couple of weeks ago, but he is just growing and getting stronger every day. this is him a week and half ago:

and this boy,

oh, this boy ... this is my precious clinton. this picture is from when he was at st.jude the first half of last year undergoing radiation and chemo treatments for medulloblastoma. medullo is the most common kind of brain tumors in children, and these tumors can do what they call "seed", where little parts of it are let out into the brain fluid, which then travels to the spine. when clinton left st.jude in august, he was all clear. no more cancer! i was so thankful that God had answered the prayers of so many people!

when clinton and his mom, kim went back to memphis to have his first 3 month check-up, they were devastated to find out that the cancer had returned. i think it's safe to say that everyone who knows and loves clinton and his family (kim and jeremy, big brother jordan, and little brother max) was devastated by this news. the doctor told them that with oral chemo medication (full-blown chemo is not an option because his system is still too weak) they are looking at less than a year.

after consulting a doctor in los angeles, a new course of treatment was decided on and administered by vanderbilt. this was a very high dose chemo that really knocked clinton's immune system down. after two rounds of that treatment another scan showed that the cancer was still spreading. with that news, kim and the doctors decided that a continual low dose chemo would be the best plan. this would not make clinton as sick and allow him to get out and about to do fun things. after doing this treatment for a couple of months, a recent mri showed that clinton's cancer is stable! that is incredible news ... the first not negative thing that's been reported since coming home from st. jude. maybe the cancer cells are giving up ... who knows, but we'll take it. and give thanks for this nugget of hope.

this is the cancer-ninja himself, last friday night, when i got the distinct pleasure of helping him and max make bugs, and then squish them. i don't know, must be a boy thing! but they had fun.

i know that the bible says we are not guaranteed tomorrow. i know that God has a plan. i trust that God's plan is the right plan, even when we can't see that. i truly believe that no matter what happens in the world, God intends to work through it, even in ways we may never know. He is just that big and mighty and wise.

He has absolutely worked in my life (and the lives of many others) through these three boys, and i am so thankful for that!

google reader and igoogle

2010-08-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

google reader is my new best friend ... and maybe my worst enemy.

i read blogs. i read a lot of blogs. i may or may not read too many blogs.

a few months ago i decided i would start following the ones i really like, because i would forget to check them for a while and then i would feel like i was missing out on something. and i don't handle that whole "missing out on something" thing very well. i had heard of google reader, but i didn't really understand what it was all about, but when i started following blogs i realized that every time one of the blogs i follow has new posting it shows up in my reader.

so for a while, about once a day i would go to my gmail account and check my reader. on most days there would be about 25-30 new posts for me to scan through. a nice little treat!

now, don't get me wrong, i do not really read each and every one of those, but i do scan through them and look at the ones that interest me.

you can even star the ones you think might want to reference again, and i've found that very handy as i try to remember exactly how someone did a project or the name a product they used for something.

you know what i found out today?

you can search in you reader.

and it searches all items in your reader. so i was sitting here thinking - i have seen 5,000,000 (or so) banners on blogs lately, i want to look a bit closer at them, as i am planning to make one for a shower, so at the top of the screen i found this:

i simply typed in "shower banner" and up popped every entry with the word banner in it.

if you remember which blog it was that you saw something on, you can search specific blogs, too. that's handy!!

if you add igoogle to the mix (where you can customize your google page by adding news, weather, and tons of other things including your google reader!!), you can (as i do) see what's new on google reader every time you connect to the internet.

this could be dangerous!

man, i don't know who thinks up these things, bu i'm sure glad they do =)

counters done.

2010-07-12T10:15:00.001-07:00

here they are with the clear coat on. i like them! it will be a few days before i can put anything on them, so my kitchen is still a mess, but it's all good!

you can't see it in these pictures, but some of the paint got pulled off the wall, so i will have to do some touch ups, but that's not much trouble! i can't wait until i can use them!

kitchen redo part 2 - painted counter tops

2010-07-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

so, back in february i posted my inspiration board for my kitchen redo. the first part of that project was to paint my cabinets, which i have really enjoyed. the scond part was to paint my counter tops using a process called "countertop transfauxmations". on thursday as i was contemplating what i was going to do over the long weekend, i realized that i had basically three days with no big plans and that i could finally tackle this...i was so excited!

i didn't take any before or during pictures, but i promise, it wasn't that exciting, so you aren't missing anything. the first step is to clean the counters very well, tape them and then use a bonding primer all over. second, paint your base color all over the countertops. mine was a very dark brown called "bark" - like a tree, not like a dog, i think. the third step - and most time consuming - is to sponge on your other colors. my goal was to have mostly shades of the light, cream color (parchment) with some of the dark showing through and some flecks the golden/tan color (country twill). i had never done much sponging before, so that was an experience. of course behind the sink and in the corners and crevices were the most difficult, but overall i am happy with the look.
obviously i am not done yet ... the painters tape will come down! the whole thing took longer than i anticipated, so i have done the fourth step - sealing. the instructions say to use satin finish polycrylic from minwax, but i wanted a shinier finish, so i chose the semi-gloss.

i have some anxiety about the clear coating ... just trying to get it all on there without lines and bubbles and such.

i will post more pictures when i get that done. i won't be able to start on it until sunday, though, because i am headed to memphis tomorrow to hang out with clinton!! i am so excited to get to go visit him finally - definitely more fun that countertops!!

i am beginning to like my mantle

2010-06-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

i've always thought that whatever is on your mantle should be what you like the best. this is a place of honor to me. and no, even if i did have a big plasma hd tv, it would not be on the mantle. i know lots of people do that, and that's ok, but i just don't like it. there, i said it!

since i moved into my condo, i have not been satisfied with what i have had on my mantle. for over two years i had the willow tree nativity that my mom gave me out, and i do love that, it was just too much neutral going on up there, so it's packed away until december. this spring i decided to focus on finding some good pieces that i really like to put up there that would bring the color of my cabinets into this room (since the kitchen and living room really is just one big room). and it's beginning to take shape!

this is a mirror frame that is supposed to be attached to a dresser (the middle part tilts). i got it here during the buttercup festival in nolensville. it was pretty rough looking, and i debated on whether to stain it or paint it, but i put it up for a few days before i painted it and i just felt like the white would flow better. i like the way it turned out.

i got this vase here, a fun little shop in pigeon forge. i love the color. and i love forsythia branches. i am not completely happy with the yellow flowers/yellow wall thing, but i'm going with it for now. these were on sale at joann last week..yay!

these are southern living at home candlesticks i got just before i got my condo...i love them! i am looking for some better looking candles (probably taller, maybe a bright white) and thinking about making tassels to put on them...to bring the teal/blue color to this side. the d's i made a couple of years ago. the red looks really bright in the picture.

this was a print that i got two of at goodwill a couple of months ago. i painted the frame the same color as my cabinets and painted the inside with black satin paint (because i didn't have any chalkboard paint, and when i get going on something, i use what i have). i am thinking about rubbing stain on the frame so that it goes better with the vase. we'll see. "dwell" has become a slight obsession of mine lately...i am totally copying the nester, but i'm ok with that! maybe i should say i am inspired by her...that sounds better!! i love the verse it comes from...i also have it on a small canvas on my desk at work, and am thinking about other ways to remind myself to "dwell in the shelter of the Most High".

so that's the progress so far...i'm sure you will all be on the edge of your seats waiting to hear what else happens with my mantle!!

what's been going on

2010-06-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

spring is always a busy time...end of the school year, birthdays, etc., so i just decided to do long post with a few pictures of what i've been up to:

in april, the acteens wrote scripture and various other things on the sidewalk in front of our church. we had a great time! this was an idea that i picked up in gatlinburg at connection (state acteens convention) in march...i went to a really great conference about some out of the box ideas to spread God's word!

toward the end of april i got to go to lexington and spend the weekend with melissa! we scrapbooked late into the night on friday and all day saturday...it was great!!

a couple of times a year my dad's side of the family has a birthday party for all of the folks who have birthdays in the spring or fall. a fun time to catch up and celebrate with each other...and always good food!!

melissa came to nashville for her birthday and we all went to the wolfgang puck restaurant in cool springs to celebrate...as usual we had a great time. i think this is the first time in about 4 years that all three of us have been together for all three of our birthdays (march, april, may).

of course the first weekend in may was the flood...thankfully my home was fine. the saturday that all the rain started, mom and i had gone to mema's to take her "to town" and it took me over 7 hours to get from mema's house back to mine. it was a long day, but an adventure none the less.
on may 15 i got to go see katie graduate...i was so glad to be a part of this special day. katie is the first one of my acteens that i have been with for the whole time she was in youth (7th-12th grade). congratulations, katie!!

one sunday, when kim was able to bring clinton home from st. jude i got to hang out with these cuties... this is jordan (now 17) rockin' out.

this is elizabeth (aka bitses), jordan, clinton and max's cousin.

mr. max...about to be 3...becoming so handsome!!

clinton...the wonderboy! those glasses, that smile...it's almost too much!!

paper flowers are still flowers

2010-04-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

i started working in the church library a couple of months ago. it has been fun, and i have learned a lot! one of my favorite things to do is work on the display window. this is one that we did for spring...it's very happy!!

we included several books about flowers and gardening and little silk flowers...very cheery!! when i was thinking about a spring display, i kept seeing paper flowers. so i went with that.luckily i still had this book from when i first started papercrafting several years ago, and it has a template to make paper flowers! in my head i saw many. many more of them, almost covering the whole bottom part of the display, but once i started making them i realized they were pretty tedious, so a small bouquet it is.
happy spring!

these are a few of my favorite things

2010-03-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

janna did this on her blog a few days ago - so call me a copycat, but i thought it was a fun idea, so here i go!!

of course friends and family are at the top of my list - and crafting - but everyone knows that! the rest of these are in no particular order:

i love my camera - not necessarily this camera (which is the one i have right now), but i love having a camera and using it. i also love looking at pictures, professional and otherwise - i love that you can push a button and capture a moment in time. i keep scrapbook albums of photos i have taken and i love to look back at them and remember the feelings and energy from different times.

i love the sunshine...maybe more today because of the cloudiness and rain and cold we've been having lately, but it's just good stuff! i especially like when you can see the rays like in this photo - it's a very visable sign of God for me.

steel magnolias. love it. always will.

i love having faith. a lot of eople don't and i feel very blessed to. mine is not perfect (no one's is), but i enjoy knowing that God is there, when i am ready or when i am not, He is waiting.

decorating and design. i have had a passion for this for many years. i don't know when or where it started, but i enjoy it a lot! i like decorating at my home, friends' homes, looking at design magazines and websites. i am pretty casual in my style - i want a home that looks like it's lived in and enjoyed.

fresh flowers. they don't have to be expensive or exotic, just fresh. they make me happy!

books. novels, self help books, design books, cook books, art books, books on faith, even books on cd...i love the written word. right now i have three books "going". two at home and one i carry with me. and i have been listening to books on cd at work lately. you'd think i'd be smarter with all that reading!

blogs. i discovered them a couple of years ago, and they are quite addictive!! people blog about EVERYTHING and it is so easy to get lost in blogland. i love to find great crafting or decorating ideas. anything you are interested in - there's a blog.

tv. sad, but true - i love watching tv. i won't embarass myself with how many shows i have on "to do list" on my dvr. i just don't like watching commercials, so i record pretty much everything i watch and fast forward through the commercials....that saves time, right? i know how ridiculous this is - and i have kind of been thinking about cutting back on my recorded shows...seriously, how are these shows making my life better? i will keep thinking on that!

bags. purses, totes, shopping bags, luggage. seriously. any kind of bag - i love it! i like to make bags, buy bags, repurpose bags. cheap bags, expensive bags, second hand bags. i do not discriminate!! just call me the bag lady.

i know this was a long list - thanks for making it all the way to the end. that makes you one of my favorite things =)

happy st.patrick's day

2010-03-17T05:44:00.000-07:00

May you always have

Walls for the winds,

A roof for the rain,

Tea beside the fire,

Laughter to cheer you,

Those you love near you,

And all your heart might desire!

self-portrait - alana style

2010-03-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

alana had a little self portrait photo shoot - she found this very fun - the rest of us found it very cute!! i have included them all, so no one misses out on the progression!!

i love this child.

the cutest little pouches

2010-03-15T05:40:00.000-07:00

last week i was looking for a purse pattern to use to make a quick purse to donate to the youth auction at church and i came across a new blog: made by rae. she's got some great stuff on there! she had "celebrate the boy" month in february and there on tons of cute ideas for little boy things! one of her guest posts for the month was from traci at amazing mae. also some great stuff on her site - so much sewing talent and so many wonderful ideas - just more things on my want to do list! in traci's guest post on rae's blog she did these wonderful trinket bags - too cute!! and easy!! i made three this weekend - check 'em out!

this one is a little camera bag for my co-worker maria, and the first one i made.

this was actually the third one i made. also a camera bag - but for me!

this is what i call the "rock star" - it's for clinton for his nintendo ds.

here's a close up of the star - not perfect, but not too bad for a novice!

my birthday (two weeks later)

2010-03-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

where have i been!?!?! well, nowhere really - just not here =)
yes, my birthday was monday, march 1 (almost 2 weeks ago for those who are calendar challenged), and it was GREAT!! the week before my mom and i got to hang out and have lunch together, then the friday night before i went to dinner with friends (pictures to follow) and on my actual birthday i was taken to lunch at work and then my dad came over that night and took me to dinner...wow written out, that sounds like a lot of eating - but we are in the south, right!?

we started friday night at pei wei in brentwood - good stuff! mister max was ready for the party!!

clinton - too cute!!

alana is a master of the chopsticks...she impressed me!!

clinton so wanted me to open my gifts and was a bit disappointed that there was only one to unwrap! i was not disappointed, though - the cards have the good stuff, right?

you can't beat leftovers!

kim, clinton, and i - and max hiding behind kim - he got camera shy!

man, i love that smile!! so glad they got to come to dinner and to panera for coffee and dessert after! we sat back in the corner so the kids could play a little.

alana says "no more pictures!"

not unless she's taking them that is - more on this later!!

mr. and mrs. morel, janna, and alana

if i remember correctly i think melissa was doing a little dance here...you can't ever tell!! i am so glad she came down for the weekend!

after dinner melissa, janna and i went to my house to visit with each other...and as you can tell by what's in janna's hand, we broke out the wii - super mario brothers to be exact! it was great!!

thanks to everyone who is special to me for making my birthday so special!!

my cup runneth over - with cookies

2010-02-23T17:27:00.001-08:00

last week kim was trying to come up with a way to thank all of the students and teachers at clinton's school for all of the support they have provided the family since clinton's diagnosis and treatment so far. they are having a party for him tomorrow since it is the last day he will be there this school year. she, like many of us (me, me, me!) tends to be a perfectionist (aka martha stewart) with things like this, so she didn't want to leave anyone out. that meant we needed a treat for 500 kids and teachers...no problem, right?

right! especially when you have wonderful friends and family who volunteer to help. when we decided what to do, i immediately emailed some wonderful ladies i know and solicited their cookie baking skills. and asked a few in person friday night. we wanted to give each child and teacher a bag with two chocolate chip cookies and a note of thanks from clitnon. within 4 days we had over 1000 cookies! amazing, right?

right! i never doubted that it would work out...not everyone i asked could participate, which i anticipated, and some folks surprised me with their generosity. my mom even made 317 cookies! these 7 ladies/families warmed my heart with their willingness.

here are just a few of the cookies before i went over to kim's to help package them up last night.

this is what i saw when i walked in kim's bedroom last night...she said "we don't have to get done tonight, but we do have get my bed cleaned off!" i wasn't sure that was going to happen, but i just got to work.
kim continued to put the cookies in ziploc bags in the kitchen while...
clinton and i stapled the notes to the bags that were already packed on the bed. he was such a great help, and took his job (and the whole process) very seriously. we talked about what we were doing and why, and he was very excited to get to give the cookies to all of his classmates.
here are some more cookies ready to be put into the lunch bags...have you ever seen so many cookies!?!?
after a long night's work, clinton zonked out on the couch. we did get kim's bed cleaned off, but didn't completely finish, so she did that today.
so clinton is all set to give all of his friends at school a nice treat tomorrow!

thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the cookie bakers - you are truly a blessing in my life! (and not just because you made a bunch of cookies)

oh, yes...max was doing a little monkeying around last night, too!! that boy is a mess...a precious mess!

do you know polyvore?

2010-02-22T07:09:00.000-08:00

that's not the name of a new super model or movie star, it's a really cool website where you can go make inspiration boards for your next home design project. i saw it on a really cool blog
that i check out pretty regularly. i went and checked it out last week, and i'm hooked!

this is what i worked up for my living room. of course this will stay in this inspiration board form for some time, since the only piece of this room i actually own right now is the wooden trunk.
each idea board has a list connected with it to show where you can get the items and most of them have a link to the website and the price. that's right nifty! although you might not buy exactly what you find, you can get an idea of what you are looking for. (click on this picture to make it big enough to read)

and i found this chair, which i love...it's from pier one. wonderfully cheery! not terribly expensive. not a bad combination.

this is a room i did with dior one night, just messing around with some fun stuff.

you can look at other people's boards, too, which is fun. this one is fresh and fabulous!

and you can also make fashion boards (which is really what polyvore is geared toward). there are lots of these to look at!

fun stuff. go see what you can find on polyvore.

kitchen redo - part 1

2010-02-17T06:46:00.000-08:00

i unexpectedly had the day off of work on monday, so i decided to tackle my kitchen cabinets...as i posted here my plan was to paint them a soft teal/robin's egg blue color...it's ralph lauren emperor...and even the paint chip made me happy, so i went with it.

here are my cabinets on monday morning about 8:30

about 9:00am sometime during the priming process...please ignore my disorganized cabinets...that's a task for another day!

this is about 7:30pm when i had primed and painted 2 coats on all the doors and set them around my living room to dry completely for the night.

and this is last night when after i re-hung all the doors...i like it a lot!! and yes, i should have vacuumed that rug!!

here is some of the top and bottom together - this color really lightened up the whole kitchen, and i am so glad i finally did this...now i am just more motivated to get on with the rest of the project!!

happy valentine's day

2010-02-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

may you love and be loved.

"i need a coach bag"

2010-02-12T07:35:00.000-08:00

that's a line from a song, ironically the only line i can remember - i don't even remember the name of it, but anyway. i like coach...i just do...and while i know i don't need any purse, and i am not going to buy this (debt free, debt free, debt free), dang! i REALLY like this bag!!

as i told my friend christine last night, if i had friends who were inclined to give really expensive birthday gifts i would absolutley ask for this. i'm just sayin'.

an ongoing project

2010-02-11T05:14:00.000-08:00

so, i am always starting new projects...and trying to finish just as many (although that doesn't always happen). this one will undoubtedly take a long time, and i am trying not to get burnt out on it before i finish.

i have always liked quilts and am amazed at the handiwork of women of years past who did so much quilting by hand after a long days work in the fields. they made quilts out of flour sacks or fabric scraps from clothing they had made for their family. they made quilts because they needed a blanket, not because they had free time and wanted to showcase their sewing talents. they sat in quilting circles and shared storied of their lives with other women in their family and community. not that my quilt is anything like that, but that whole mind set just fascinates me.

i started thinking about making a quilt last fall, and i am just now really getting into the meat of the project.
i had purchased all of the fabric back before Christmas, and searched and searched the internet for a pattern that i love. i finally came across one that i felt wasn't too country, and easy enough for me to tackle...here it is. it's the daisy chain strippy quilt. i like that there is a pattern to it (because i need that order in my life), and i like that there is a randomness to the width of the strips (because i want the order in my life to look like it's not on purpose). yes, i know how that sounds, but that's how it is.

these are all of the fabrics that i chose. i have black and white in my bedroom now, and love the light blue/aqua/turquoise color with the black and white. i cut the strips last weekend when i was snowed in for three days...it was a time to figure out what there was to do around the house.

this is one of the first blocks i did the other night.

here are two of the blocks together, showing how, when they are next to each other the strips don't match up. i like it!

these are my tools for this job: my trusty, inexpensive sewing machine; my not-so-inexpensive sewing scissors, also trusty; and my fun, pink pin cushion with only teal straight pins...because when i use all different color pens i tend to be obsessed with grouping the like colors together...don't ask!

wishing

2010-02-10T07:54:00.000-08:00

so, i found some great dinnerware at target last fall that i really like. the problem is that i was going to buy it in parts, and before i got finished buying it, they quit carrying it...and i can't find it anywhere now....so eventually i am going to have to buy something else. i was just looking around on the internet and i think i have fallen in love...meet fitz and floyd's line called global market
lots of bright colors, wonderful floral pattern...

the bowls, cups, plates, etc. come in red, blue and the one above called motif..
the colors don't exactly match the southern living stuff currently have out in the kitchen, but it's all about "blendy, blendy not matchy, matchy", right?

the colors are so rich and vibrant...

and seriously, how could you deny this bird - i think it's the cutest little thing i ever did see!

getting a head start on holiday decor

2010-02-08T21:53:00.000-08:00

what can you make with this...
and a few boxes of these?

after you pull all of them out of their boxes and hot glue the metal hook part onto the ball so they don't pop off,

you make this.

here is a full shot - it's a wreath!! i got all of the balls the day after Christmas at joann for 75% off. when it's time to decorate for the holidays, i will hang it and then camoflage the hook with a bow kind of like this one!

kitchen redo - the inpspiration "board"

2010-02-03T07:54:00.000-08:00

this is what i want to do with my kitchen. if you click on the picture, you can see it bigger.

my inspiration is the pieces of the southern living at home gail pittman bountiful collection that i bought before i bought my condo. i love all of the colors together, my favorite is the teal.

the background color is the color of the walls as they are - they are actually a tad lighter than that, but i am not going to change it at this point.

the wood part is the floor - i like the rustic-ness of this color, and i love it with the blue on the cabinets. the flooring is by armstrong, it's called lockhaven and you can lay right over linoleum.

the cabinet color is something i have been pondering for over a year, now, and i just finally decided that i am going to do it. that's what i will do first, i think, because it is cheapest and if i mess up the floor or counters in the process - no big deal!!

the granite is kind of what i have in mind for this counter painting technique i am going to do. my boss ordered a video called counter transfauxmations, and i think this will be easy. we watched the video last week, and it seemed pretty straight forward. i think i can do the whole kitchen in one weekend.

i loved how the big printed fabric matches the shapes of the vase so well...i think i will do window treatments out of that - have been searching blogs for ideas on that. the red fabric is already on my kitchen chairs, so i may introduce the other two fabrics on a message board or basket liners...maybe some place mats - we will see!!

since my main goal this year is to get (almost) out of debt, i will be doing this along the way, in stages. my plan is for this to cost around $500. it will truly take me a year to get it done, but now that i have the big picture on paper it will be a much clearer process! i'm sure i will post pictures along the way.

mmm...pillows

2010-01-28T07:30:00.000-08:00

i have seen many posts on painting your own monogram pillows, so i thought i would give it a try! i got these pillows for $5 each, which i figured i could not make them for, and if i messed them up, it wouldn't be so bad. i didn't use freezer paper or fabric paint like most others i have seen, i just printed the M on card stock and cut it out. i taped it on the pillow and drew the letter on with a pencil. i just used regular craft paint and filled in the shape, making sure to cover up the pencil outline.

these are going to melissa to put on her new (to her) couch in her new apartment! i hope she enjoys them!

my maggie-moo

2010-01-27T21:25:00.000-08:00

this is my kitty - i got her as a birthday present for my 24th birthday. i have had her for almost 6 years, and bless her heart i have made her move 5 times in those years. that's why i love her...she just goes with the flow, living inside and outside and in the basement, as long as she has food and water and somewhere to go to the bathroom, she's good!!

she has lots of hair that she leaves all over the place. her real name is steel magnolia, because that's my favorite movie and because she is gray (steel) and white (magnolia), but mostly because that's my favorite movie - the whole color thing was just lucky!!she likes to pretend she is sneaky.

she loves to be whereever i am. here she is thinking about jumping up on the couch.

she loves to snuggle on my bed - i'm pretty sure that's where she stays all day when i'm not home. i love how her paws are crossed in this pic. they look so soft, and when i try to rub them, she tries to bite me.

this is the "pet blanket" i got her for christmas, which is in fact just a fleece blanket with paws on it. she like it. here i think she is saying "quit taking pictures of me, now!" she can be like that sometimes!

warning: no make-up

2010-01-27T06:58:00.000-08:00

i am so thankful to have the kind of friends you don't have to get made up for!!
this past weekend john, janna, alana and i went to kentucky to help melissa with her new apartment. and none of us wore make-up all weekend!!

we met at my house, re-packed the car (which was quite a feat), and left from there. we drove to bowling green and met melissa at PEPPers, a local mexican restaurant. these pictures are from there.

alana was very excited to see auntie melissa and show off her new glasses. we all agree with janna's uncle jim - she looks spectacular in her spectacles!!

john was the muscle/driver of the trip, driving the hobbit sized moving truck from bowling green to lexington friday night and then around lexington on saturday while we collected some furniture melissa's abode. we are all thankful he was there!!
janna was our encourager as always and made sure we got lots of work done! i guess my main goal, apartment wise, was the decorating, which i always enjoy, but i was also glad to see mellie in her new apartment! i can't wait to go back! maybe we won't have to work so hard next time!!

the girl alvin and the chipmunks

2010-01-19T07:34:00.000-08:00

i got to go to the movies yesterday! kim and clinton were here an extra day for the holiday weekend, jordan was home from school, and i was off of work, so we took all the boys to see the new alvin and the chipmunks movie, which clinton call "the girl alvin and the chipmunks".

here is jordan (16) holding max (2) and clinton (5).

the chipmunks were even at the movie theatre...how cool is that!?!?

max gave theodore a kiss...too cute!!

clinton had lots of fun! he and jordan both had dollars that they were going to spend, but kim told them to just keep their money, so she shelled out $56739.08 for snacks for everyone...it still shocks me how much things cost at the movies!!

after the movie we went back to their house and just visited for a while before jordan had to go back to school and kim and clinton had to go back to memphis. a great afternoon with awesome boys!!

helper journals

2010-01-14T06:40:00.000-08:00

i love journaling...that's not to say that i do it consistently, but i love the idea of it! at one time i kept a journal consistently for about 2 years...it was almost like something had not really happened in my life until i wrote in my journal. and as silly as i sounded at times, it is kind of nice to go back a read those journals, it reminds me that i have grown up a little bit =)

a few years ago, i gave my friend kim a journal that had some pointers in it as to what to write each day. i thought that was a great idea, but had never seen them again, until this christmas when my aunt juanita gave me this: it's a prayer journal...i love it! this is a sample page. i think if you click on the picture you will be able to see it better.

i have been using it pretty consistently since i got it, and while i don't fill in every section everyday, i do think about each of those things, which is helps me be more reflective.

i was browsing their website the other day and found this book journal:

i thought this would be neat to have because i am always trying to remember what books by a certain author i have read...this is a sample page:

they also have mini (pocket/purse-sized) journals that were cute, and only about $6...the big ones are almost $20. check out all of the titles...they might inspire you!!

i got my christmas cards for this year!

2010-01-12T23:30:00.000-08:00

yes, you read correctly...i have my christmas cards for 2010 already!

for the past few years i have told myself i will send out some kind of picture christmas card with a picture of me and my cat, maggie, or just a cool picture...but that hasn't happened. so, each year i scramble at the last minute to find cards that i like and that don't cost an arm and a leg!!so, when i was perusing the very few things left in the christmas aisle at kroger the other night i saw a few boxes of cards. there were four boxes that i liked (and a few i didn't), so i snagged them up .

here you can see how much i saved...msrp was $50 (which i never would have paid), kroger had them originally for $24 (which i might have paid if they were great cards and i was in a rush), and I got them for a total of $6 plus tax!! i love saving money!! by the way, that's $.08 for each card.

i know you will be anxious to get your cheap (but thoughtful and well meaning nonetheless) christmas card come december!! if i can find them, that is!

beans

2010-01-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

until this past week, i had never made "a pot of beans". it's not that i don't like beans, it's just that it never really occurred to me to make them. my mom makes them and my grandmother makes them, i just never really thought about it.

a couple of months ago, while at the grocery store with my mom, i mentioned that i thought beans would be a good meal for the plan i was on (the same one i am trying to be on now). they count as a protein and a vegetable (i have a hard time fulfilling my required veggie servings every day).

so we got some 15 bean soup...while not completely healthful (adding bacon or ham hock to things tends to make them less healthy!!) i thought it would be perfect for a cold winter night!!

i must have read the directions 15 times...the first thing was that you needed ham hock....ok, i know that is a pretty standard thing in most southern households, but i do not believe i have ever had ham hock in my house...so i always stopped there. then the other day i remembered i had a pack of bacon in my freezer...that's kind of like ham hock, right? i went with it, and it wasn't too bad!!

this is the beans soaking - i thought they were so bright and colorful!! who knew beans could be so beautiful!

i let them soak overnight, drained them and put them in the crock pot the next morning....with some bacon, some frozen chopped onions and some other seasonings.
this is while they were cooking...and making my house smell wonderful!!

yum, yum! unfortunately they were not near as bright and beautiful by the time they got done cooking, but they sure tasted good! i may have to try this again.

i'm still here!

2010-01-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

i have not given up on the blog...i just haven't been inspired to update it. i think i feel like i need to have something profound to say or show on here, and i guess i haven't felt like i've anything all that important to say!!

i don't think anyone reads this who does not know me personally (and would therefore know what i've been up to), but i will just list a few things that have filled my time the last half of 2009 (with a few pics for your enjoyment!!)...

acteens started back up in the fall, and i began my 7th year as a leader of that group. we have had a great "core" group of girls for the past several years and the oldest one in that group, katie, graduates this year...it will not be the same without her!!

i became a part of a new sunday school class at our church. the goal of the class is to welcome newcomers and visitors, and to help them feel like they have a place they belong until they get plugged in to the most fitting class for them. i have really enjoyed getting to know the other folks in the class and our teachers, and of course welcoming people to our church.
work has been good, i guess...just rolling with the flow of that and trying to adjust some structural changes and responsibility shifts...pretty much just thankful to have a job!!
i started working with a personal trainer sometime in october. the biggest adjustment for me was getting up and exercising before work. i have lost a little over 20 pounds (even a little over the holidays) and am now trying to get re-dedicated to food plan portion of the system.
kim's son clinton (in the picture on the side) was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma brain tumor the week before thanksgiving and is in the process of undergoing treatments for that...it has been a roller coaster for them, and i just keep lifting them all up in prayer! if you want to read what's going on, click here
christmas was great...i really enjoyed spending time with friends and family this year...not that i don't always enjoy that time, but i really tried to take note of it this year. i also really enjoyed buying and making gifts this year...i tried to put a lot of thought into each one and was really excited to give all of them, instead of just getting something to wrap up.

so that was 2009...now for 2010...what do i plan for 2010???

my main focus is to get my finances under control (which is a constant battle for me!!). i have asked my mother to kind of be my accountability partner in this endeavor and will meet with her each month to share my budget and progress. if all goes as planned i will have everything paid off except my house and student loan by the end of the year!!
continue working out...thanks to a generous gift from kim, i still have 4 more weeks with the trainer and thanks to my mom, i have a wii fit. with these tools i plan to continue to work out several times a week and try new activities along the way!
as always, i plan to eat healthy this year.
i plan to blog more and not be so hard on myself about it...i just have remind myself that there are really no rules to this, and that i don't have to have some life changing or hysterically funny post. we'll see!
i plan to memorize a bible verse each week. janna wanted to do this with her family and has invited others to join, i think it's great, i mean, who doesn't need a few scriptures in their head!!

i am making a conscious effort to spend more time in prayer this year. to purposefully pray and dialogue with God on a daily basis. my aunt gave me a great prayer journal for christmas that has really helped with this!

what i did on my summer vacation

2009-06-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

a couple of weeks ago i took a week off of work in order to get some things done around my house. the main goal was to clean, which i did some of monday and tuesday. then wednesday night janna came over and kicked my butt into gear to get my craft room organized and cleaned out. we worked very hard and i appreciate her encouragement/berating =) more than i could ever say!! with all of the dirty work done i was able to get to stuff that i really wanted to do...the crafty things!!

painting my bedroom furniture had been on my mental "to do" list since i moved, and i finally did it. i love it!! it looks better than i imagined!
this is the dresser that i've had in my bedroom since i can remember. seriously, i remember it as early as age 4 - it's o-l-d! the "dream" was given to me as a gift by the morel's, and i love the way it looks on the black. the silver tray was also a gift, from a friend at church, and it also pops nicely on the new color!

that's original photography by kara blankenship, it's the trunk of a huge, very old tree. i've had that for a long time!!

this chest of drawers i got some time when i was in high school. it came with three more drawers, but at some point i decided i wanted a tv inside it, so i took them out and vic added the shelf in there. when i started scrapbookin i realized this was the only place i have tall enough to house my 12x12 albums, so that's what lives there now.

this vanity belonged to my grandmother. when she passed away in 2002 this was the only piece of her bedroom suit that i took. at the time it wasn't really my style, but i wanted something that was her's. i have wanted to paint it for a long time, and got really mixed reviews on doing that. i was hesitant, but i ABSOLUTELY love how this turned out. i need to touch it up, but i love it!!

this is something i visualized a few weeks ago and it just kind of came together. my craft room has been kind of a catch all room, and i really just wanted it to be cohesive and cute. now i feel like it's seriously on it's way to cute!!

these are those wooden crates that i just hung on the wall with gorilla hooks. gorilla hooks are amazing!! seriously, these two crates are full - one of paper, the other of magazines - and the gorilla hooks are not budging!!

the one with drawers needs another coat or two paint, and i'm trying to figure out a cute labeling system for them.

i was originally going to make the curtains myself, but on a recent trip to walmart, i saw this panel and decided it would be much easier to just cut it and make it fit. it has all the right colors!

i bought this shelf at the thrift store for $10 about 6 or 7 years ago. i love the color, but it made me nuts to be able to see all of the crafting clutter that i was storing on it. the curtain works great. i might repaint this so the shade of green is closer to whats in the curtain, but we'll see.

every thing is hidden!!

this is my little bistro set that's outside, last summer i painted it a bright aqua, which i really liked, but everytime i saw it from outside i just thought "that doesn't go", so for the cost of three cans of spray paint and 3/4 a yard of fabric, it's all new!! and goes much better with the inside of my house.

that hook came from my dad's house and i found the star lantern at home goods (i love that place!)

i saw in a magazine or a blog somewhere some one had put a bunch of their initials on the mantel. well, my mantel is not that big, and is pretty much already full, so i decided two was enough. i love the color that they add (on the other side of my mantle is my willow tree nativity scene which has really muted colors).

i bought the letters at joann, and decoupaged them with strips of scrapbook paper.

these little ditties "blossomed" from something i saw in the anthroplogie catalog. there's was much simpler (small silver buckets with little numbers on the front with grass in them). these were the smallest number i could find at joann, i couldn't find any grass that i liked, and i was going to sit them in my front window, but you couldn't see them from the outside. so big numbers with sunflowers on the shelf inside the front door it is!! i like the way they
turned out!

update

2009-05-21T07:55:00.001-07:00

i have been doing really well with food this week. i think the thing that works for me best is writing things down, so i have a little journal that i write everything i eat in. my daily calorie goal is 1600, which is not crazy, and i am eating 5-6 times per day. my goal per meal is:
breakfast 300-350
lunch 350-400
dinner 400-450
snacks 450-500 (spread throughout the day)

i got these numbers from a book called calorie queens which talks about eucalorics and how many calories you should eat each day to maintain your goal body weight. i think the equation is the weight x 12 = calories. they go into a lot more detail in the book , but that is the basic formula.

i am trying to cook more, eat out less, and eat at least one salad each day. salad greens (lettuce, spring mix, spinach) are really the only green vegatables i like, so i try to get one in each day. cooking sometimes seems like too much trouble, but i did buy a bunch of different kinds of food at the grocery the last couple of weeks to mix things up, so maybe it will be easier.

drinking water is not hard for me...i like water, sometimes i just decide i like cokes or tea better, but i've been doing really well with that. i try to keep track of how much i drink, but i forget a lot! all i know is that i have been going to the bathroom non-stop!!

i also wanted to start moving more, and in an effort to do that i ordered this:
and started the work out this morning. it is a set of 2 dvd's with alternating workouts that you do for 6 days then rest for 1 day and start all over. it came with this cool tracking calendar that i have posted up in my living room. i'm going to get up every morning and do the 40 minute workout and see what happens! this morning was alright - i am terribly out of shape and could not keep up the whole time, but i did keep moving, and went at my own pace. there were not many moves that were terribly complicated, but there were several that i just couldn't do...but i will get there!

flowers on my fence

2009-05-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

i saw this project in a diy magazine a couple of weeks ago and loved it! i have a very small back "yard" and since i live in a condo there's not really much i can do back there, so i loved the thought of decorating the fence. i got these pots from my dad's house (the previous owner left them) and cleaned them up and spray painted them this morning. then mom and i went to lowe's and she helped my pick out the plants. i love the bright colors and the fact that all of these should hang over the pots in a while. i put the hangers up and mom and i potted the plants, and voila! i LOVE how this turned out...i can't wait until the rain stops and i'm able to sit out there and enjoy them!!

mother's day and getting it in gear

2009-05-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

i love mother's day. why? first because i love my mother, and i love spending the day with her, doing what we do. second, i love my grandmother and spending time with her. these two ladies make me laugh, make me think, make me mad, make me strong, make me smarter, make me better, and make me who i am. God has given me who i need to have. my mom is a smart, independant woman, and some days i wonder how she puts up with me. my mema is amazing to me. she has lived a long life, and continues to live by herself, keep a garden, go to church every sunday, and excercises every single day. she is a very straight forward woman who says what she thinks (even when we don't always agree), she has survived some pretty bad stuff and is all the better for it. i lived with her for about 8 months a few years back and i swear i learned more in those 8 months than i have since =)

every year for mother's day we take a picture of the three of us, but we usually forget to do it until we already have our "play clothes" on, but this year i remembered to do it right after we got home from church...

then i took several pics of mema's new cat, who doesn't have a tail. she says that's the sign of a good hunter...i don't know. his name is "bobbit", i kid you not....i don't think it has any connection to john bobbit, but she's a shard lady, so it very well could!!

after lunch my uncle and aunt (larry and judy) came down and judy and i went a cut some of mema's peonies...they are so beautiful and smell so nice in my house!! i forgot to take pictures =(

speaking of my house, i am starting to get that in gear...i am having a party in june and my goal is to have the house good and clean and do a few projects before then. i am working on the cleaning this week, and this weekend hope to get busy on two of my projects.

first i am putting some flower pots on the fence in the back of my house...i got some from my dad's house that were left when they moved in, so i am going to clean them up and paint them, then i'll hang them with these things. I ordered them yesterday and I can't wait to see how this turns out!! i am also going to re-paint the patio table and chairs i painted last year to match the chairs i bought from walmart last week.

second i am painting two dressers and the vanity in my bedroom. i have been "gonna do this" since i moved in, and it is just time!!

third, i am re-doing my craft room. this area has been a hodge podge of leftover furniture and things, and i am just ready for it to me usable and cute!! i have a plan, i just have to get in there and get everything organized and cleaned out.

well...

2009-05-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

i think i'm going to do this. yes...i am. i am putting this out there for all (2 or 3 folks who read this) to see.

for more years than i care to think about I have needed and wanted to lose weight. i have done most every diet program or pill you could name. some of them have worked for me. and some of them didn't. i'm sure that most of them work for if you work them, but for whatever reason (probably my lack of dedication at the point i tried them) the haven't worked for me. i have read book after book (although most not all the way through) and the ones that really hit home with me are the straight to the point ones that say if you eat less and move more you will lose weight. so that's what i am aimig for.

don't get me wrong, i do not want to lose weight to be happy...i know that i can be happy at any size and unhappy at any size, and i don't want to lose weight because nobody likes me...i think i have the best friends and family in the world, at this point in my life i NEED to lose weight. i NEED to be healthier. i wake up most mornings with hurting feet, i wake up every morning with hurting knees and lately with a very painful back. It is time!!

i am putting all this out there to help motivate me. i am walking some, and hope to do that more consistantly. i am working on cooking more and eating out less. i got a bunch of cooking for 2 magazines and am looking through those to get some ideas. it's just hard sometimes to cook for just me, but i guess i need to look at it like i am doing something for myself. but if you'd like to come over for dinner anytime, just let me know!!

so ask me how i'm doing, ask me if i'm walking, and i will update here, too.

inspired

2009-03-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

so it's been forever since i've felt like i had anything to write, but i wanted to share something. i'm sure i've already told most of the folks who read this, but at least putting it here i will be able to look back at it later.

the past few weeks i have really felt convicted to take care of some financial issues i have had. as most people who know me well know, i am not known for my sound financial decisions. it's just not one of my strong points. but this year i have been trying slowly to change that. last week i had a bit of a "come apart" because it seemed like i was taking one step forward and two steps back. so i talked to my mom and with her help was able to get current with several things that i was behind on. so on friday, having only one check out that had not cleared, i had an additional $1.31 in the bank. i was ok with that knowing that i was to get paid from the skate center this week, and that nothing else was due. well, over the weekend a service charge for something came out of my account that was $6.95. now, since the check had not cleared, there was money in the account, but i knew that if the check cleared it would bounce. my first thought was to borrow a few bucks from someone, but then i just felt like i needed to take the consequences of this...so i had resigned to pay the service charge if the check came through before i got paid. well, yesterday morning i was looking at an explanation of benefits from my insurance company, and there was a $20 check attached to it!! GOD is SO GOOD!!! seriously...i could bot have been more excited if that was a $1,000 check!

i am so thankful to serve a God that is so faithful. He blesses me over and over again. this is just one example of the many blessings...my cup runneth over!

movie reviews by me!

2009-02-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

this weekend seemed to be the time for me to watch some movies i'd been wanting to catch, so i did just that! on friday night, kim and i watched mamma mia. we had been to the play when it was here in nashville a couple of years ago, so we were excited to see it on screen.

of course it wasn't the same as the stage show, but it was really good. at times it seemed like they were just singing song after song, but that is what makes mamma mia mamma mia, so that was just fine. i loved meryl streep and her two friends, their chemistry was great! and i also loved the greek chorus...it seemed like they would just pop up out of no where and start singing and dancing, but it wasn't like "oh, where did they come from?" it worked.

i had been wanting to see the secret life of bees since i heard it was coming out. i read the book a few years ago and loved it, and i'm always curious to see how they translate books to screen. they did a wonderful job this time!

if you haven't read the book or seen the movie, the secret life of bees is the story of lilly owens (dakotah fanning) and the boatwright family she comes to live with when she is 14 years old. the movie is set during 1964, just after the civil rights act is signed. the boatwright sisters live in tiberon, south carolina, and own a home and a good bit of land. august boatwright (queen latifah) tends the bees and takes lilly under her wing. this is a sweet story of a young girl desperate to find out who she is. a good girl power movie!!

this next movie, I had not heard of until i was looking at the redbox on friday. the lucky ones stars tim robbins (which is why i rented it), rachel mcadams, and michael pena. they are u.s.army soldiers all on leave from the war. as luck would have it, they end up traveling cross country (new york to las vegas) in a mini van. along the way they have many mishaps and there are many points when you think "oh, this is it, they are going their separate ways after this one!"

although these three are pretty much strangers, they come to know each other on a very deep level and kind of straighten out their lives along the way. although there is some language and other inappropriate talk, i thought this was definitely worth watching.

when i saw the preview for the bucket list at the theatre, i thought it would be a good rental. and it was. i'm glad i didn't pay to see it in the theatre, but it was a nice movie. i usually like both jack nicholson and morgan freeman, and did again in this movie, there were just a few points were i was thinking, "when are they going to die, already?" i really liked the ending...i love when movies bring things full circle, and it did make me think about what i'd put on my own bucket list if i had one. not bad for a lazy sunday afternoon!

so there's my completely unsolicited opinion of 4 recent movies!! have you seen these? or others that have been good lately? leave me a comment and let me know!

monday...again

2009-01-26T07:19:00.001-08:00

so it's monday again. i woke up this morning, not feeling very well (i've had sinus crud for over a week now), and just thought "here we go again". don't get me wrong, i love my job, and i am so thankful for it....but sometimes i just wonder what it would be like to have a different lifestyle where i didn't have to get up and come to work 5 days a week. i think i would like to be able to not work and just travel around or just hangout around town. when i become independently wealthy i will get right on that!

so as we start this week, tell me what you'd like to do if you didn't have to work to pay the bills =) oh, and have a great monday and wonderful rest of the week!!

happy birthday, mom!!

2009-01-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

friday, january 9 was my mom's 60th birthday...she got flowers at work and a massage that afternoon, and then a little surprise party for dinner at red lobster!! melissa, mr. & mrs. morel, john, janna and alana got to the restaurant before us, so they were already at the table when we came in. janna and mrs. morel made this cool basket...very cute!!

mom had to guess each "O" item based on the clue attached to the package.

alana was tearin' it up with the play-doh!!

mom was pretty embarrassed when what seemed like the entire wait staff sang happy birthday to her!

the next day we went to mema's house for lunch (yummy soup and corn bread) and her amaryllis from Christmas was already bloomed, and beautiful!!

happy birthday, mom....may this be your best year yet!! i love you =)

a few pics

2009-01-16T07:19:00.001-08:00

a few holiday highlights:

alana's recital was the saturday before Christmas. it was so fun!! she did a great job! (this picture is blurry b/c we weren't supposed to use a flash "for the safety of the dancers")

she's so precious!!
the next tuesday, alana spent the the day with auntie melissa and i. we went to the adventure science center and out to lunch. then we just lounged around at my house and watched movies in the afternoon....we had a great time!

i love her in this hat!! she didn't keep it on long, though!!

i always take pictures of mema, my mom and my aunt fixing lunch...i've always done that!

my aunt juanita made some yum-yum...my absolute favorite treat!! it was awesome!!

at grammy's house, the main attraction was the guitar hero eli got for Christmas....i even tried it, it was pretty cool!!

every year the boys get some kind of little gift that they compeat with after we open gifts, this year they were jumping frogs.

john michael was the winner, but rick took the "bling" because it matched his watch! they are two cool dudes!!

a couple of times a year mel, janna and i get together with mrs. garrett...we were able to meet her for lunch and catch up the saturday after chistmas!

any free time that melissa and i had, we spent scrapping...this is our stuff spread out all over my craftroom table.

not sure which day this was, but we're still scrapping!! i think i got about 65 pages done all week (from feb. of 2006 almost to the end of 2007) I might catch up someday!!

she blogs again

2009-01-12T14:36:00.000-08:00

yes, it's been a while....lots of things going on, but i won't bore you with my excuses for not blogging. i have been thinking a lot today about my new year's resolution...and yes i only made one, but it's a big one!! i didn't even know what to call it, but last night when i was driving i saw a sign in front of a church that said it perfectly...it's time in 2009...that's my resolution. i am resolving to make things happen this year. big things and small things...i am cutting the crap and just getting to the business i need to get to. it's time!!

i'll post some holiday pics later!!

clitnon's birthday and survivor finale!

2008-12-17T05:27:00.000-08:00

this is a long one, folks!

today is officially clinton's birthday, but sunday was his diego party at his gg's house. he's 4 now...it's hard to believe he's getting so big!!

i tried to take this shot about 4 times....the child would not smile!!

here's the birthday boy with his tina turner, uh, i mean diego cake.

mister max enjoyed the birthday fun, too!

the star gift was the cap guns....everyone there got shot (and died appropriately)!! great fun!!

later sunday night was the survivor gabon fianle. for the past three seasons we have had a little pool going...we just put in $5 per name, and we all draw two names. whoever's person wins gets the pot...sounds fun, right?

well, in the beginning it was...you know you root for whoever you draw, even if you don't like them. the first season john won...the second season janna and i came pretty close, but janna won. and then again this year, mine, mrs. morel's , and janna's people all made it to the final three...and guess what...janna won again!!! i'm not sure how, but i think the mcgregor's have fixed this whole thing....it was janna's idea... hmmmmmmmm!!

janna loves to point out that her dad's people always get voted out early on.alana and ava, sweet cousins!
mrs. morel made congo bars to go along with the african theme of the show...yum!

miss alana in her christmas pj's....she was having lots of fun dancing around for everyone!

Christmas addictions

2008-12-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

over at buzzingsofaqueenbee carrie listed her addictions of the holiday season and challenged her readers to do the same, so here goes (in no particular order):

Christmas music - seriously, i listen to Christmas music from Thanksgiving night straight though to Christmas. i pretty much like it all (the that darn Christmas shoes song...i really don't like that song!), but some of my favorites are: the bing crosby white Christmas cd, dominic the donkey, and joy to the world.

baking - i just feel the need to bake at Christmas. last year i made two peppermint ice cream cakes.
taking off of work - again, i just feel the need for this. i always take off a few days around Christmas. this year i am taking the whole week of Christmas and am scrapbooking as much as i can....WAHOO!!!
Christmas lights - i don't usually go out just to look at the lights, but i thoroughly enjoy the ones that i see while i am out and about.
Christmas eve - besides visiting family on Christmas day, this is my favorite tradition....every Christmas eve we go to Christmas eve service at church, then head over to the morel homestead for lots of great food and wonderful times with friends!! it just feels right!!
treats - i am all about the food and drink that only comes at the holidays. my grandmother used to always make haystacks and peanut butter balls and yum yum....and I always enjoy a bit of egg nog and apple cider!!

what are your Christmas addicitons?

a gift for me?

2008-12-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

so last night i got home and it was all dark and rainy, and i see a huge box sitting on my front porch. now, i have ordered a few things for Christmas, but i always have that stuff shipped to my office, besides that, i know i have not ordered anything big enough to require such a large box. so as i get out of the car and go up to the porch i see the oranges on the outside of the box, and remember that last year i got the same thing...a big box of oranges and grapefruits addressed to the people who lived in my condo before i bought it.

this is the huge box...half oranges and half red grapefruit.

here's my question...knowing that they were not addressed to me, was it wrong for me to have opened them? my thought is that i don't have anyway of getting in touch with the folks the fruit is addressed to, and if i send them back wouldn't they go bad soon (not to mention with the weather we've had the box probably would not have made it outside much longer).

i plan to give a lot of the fruit away...there's about 35 oranges and 20 grapfruits (which i am not a huge fan of anyway). and today i thought i might make some orange marmalade. i love orange marmalade!! what else can i do with oranges?

hanging of the greens

2008-12-10T11:59:00.000-08:00

every year our church has a "hanging of the greens" service where we decorate the sanctuary in preparation of the celebration of Christmas. the past couple of years they have had us take part and actually hang the wreaths and put some of the chrismons on the tree...it is always a special service!

alana is looking through what she called her camera at the hymnal (which is upside down, btw)

the garland is hung over the balcony

the advent candles and poinsettias (and if you look very close you can see the nativity and the toys underneath the other tree for the nashville toy store)

a Christmas cutie, indeed =)

Christmas at my house!

2008-12-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

welcome friends!!

i got these urns at a yard sale, $5 for both, and just added some small trees and a fun little bow!

this is right inside the door, i will put Christmas cards in that little tin when i start getting them!

my little baker's rack in the kitchen

this is on my kitchen table. i just put some fresh cranberries in the bottom and poured sugar on top, then more cranberries on top of that.

Christmas tree...got it on sale at target.com last january...great deal, and much better than the charlie brown tree i had last year!

mantle, with my awesome nativity (that stays out all year long), candlesticks (just changed the candles), and stockings.

this is one shelf on my built-in bookcase...those little bowls have Christmas light ornaments in them, the old kind of lights...i love those!!

now for some gifts
a couple of message boards and a book mark, and a close-up of the book mark.

~deck the halls~

2008-12-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

have you decked your halls yet? we have a short decorating season this year, if you waited until after Thanksgiving, that is =) i decorated last weekend and keep making small small changes every day...i am going to take pictures of my decorations and some of the gifts i have done so far. i will up load them tonight or in the morning.

when do you decorate? leave me a comment!!

it's the most wonderful time of the year

2008-11-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

i always love this time of year! it's getting cold, plans for thanksgiving and Christmas are being made, and people are talking about making soups and chili and curling up by the fire. it is just so cozy!! this year i have decided to craft most of the Christmas gifts i am giving, so i have already started on those. i've ordered christmas cards, and am completing my address list.

as i get older, i cherish the holiday season more and more each year. i don't have the same excitement and anticipation (mostly of what santa was bringing) that i did when i was a child, but i do have a warmth in my heart and look forward to it just the same. one thing that i am trying to do is remember the times and things that i am thankful for each day. i have started writing one or two things in my planner each day that i am thankful for. whether it is something very simple or more complex, i am just trying to think of something each day to be thankful for. i think as the holiday season approaches and i continue to do this, it will give me a chance to reflect on each day, and then i will be able to look back and not just remember the hustle and bustle (which i also love), but also the sweet times with friends and family, the awesome traditions, and the God moments.

so take time in the next couple of months to slow down now and then to cherish the things that matter most...

being single

2008-11-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

this is a blog that janna introduced me to, and it's pretty interesting. she has guests post once a week on different things (being a mother of multiples, adoption, etc.), but this week is on being single...i pretty much agree with everything the girl says...it's some good stuff!! click here to check it out.
and have a great rest of the week!!

a little bit of chicken fried

2008-11-06T12:10:00.001-08:00

i love this song right now!! it's just one of those songs that makes you feel good, ya know? anyway, here are the lyrics and you can go to cmt and check out the video. the band just seems like they are having a great time!

You know I like my chicken fried

Cold beer on a Friday night

A pair of jeans that fit just right

And the radio up

Well I was raised up beneath the shade of a Georgia pine

And that`s home you know

Sweet tea pecan pie and homemade wine

Where the peaches grow

And my house it`s not much to talk about

But it`s filled with love that`s grown in southern ground

And a little bit of chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night

A pair of jeans that fit just right

And the radio up

Well I`ve seen the sunrise

See the love in my woman`s eyes

Feel the touch of a precious child

And know a mother`s love
Well its funny how it`s the little things in life that mean the most

Not where you live or the car you drive or the price tag on your clothes

There`s no dollar sign on a piece of mind this I`ve come to know

So if you agree have a drink with me

Raise you glasses for a toast

To a little bit of chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night

A pair of jeans that fit just rightAnd the radio up

Well I`ve seen the sunriseSee the love in my woman`s eyes

Feel the touch of a precious child

And know a mother`s love

I thank god for my life

And for the stars and stripes

May freedom forever fly, let it ring.

Salute the ones who died

The ones that give their lives so we don`t have to sacrifice

All the things we loveLike our chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night

A pair of jeans that fit just right

And the radio up

my cube redo!!

2008-10-30T18:03:00.001-07:00

last friday i moved cubes (we have a temp that started this week, so she got my cube), anyway, i was glad to move....i love new spaces =) so, i put my decorating hat on and made my new cube more homey!! below are the overhead bins...i just cut scrapbook paper and stuck it on with double stick tape, then covered it with clear contact paper.

here's some photos and my favorite jack memorabilia (my bobble head and magic 8-ball)
i got this wire thingy from tj maxx when i moved into my condo, and i love it, i just didn't have anywhere to hang it at home, but it works great here!!

i have had this plant longer than any plant ever...the long vines actually go to the top of the cube wall.

my inbox, i just added a bunch of ribbons and yarn.
here's a closeup of my pencil holder (the small hemingway hurricane from southern living =) and other stuff i use a lot.

a close up of the lights strung up underneath my overhead bins. i put little bunches of ribbon all along there.

i brought this little table from home, my cube sweet cube sign from before, and an old southern living candlestick...i am taking a candle for it tomorrow.

maria gave me this super cute sign a couple of weeks ago, and i just added some ribbon to it!!

display boards

2008-10-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

i am part of the nashville baptist association's women's missionary union leadership team. each year on the first monday in november we host a world day of prayer for all the women in nashville area baptist churches. this a worldwide event. for the past three years i have helped with this, and it's always a nice time to remember and pray for women and missionaries all around the world. this year i volunteered to "re-vamp" the display boards that we use, and i just finished them last night. i am very excited about how they turned out.

each board represents one of 7 continental unions, and on each board you will see hands that have the countries in the union printed on them, a map highlighting the area, and two icons that represent the area...that's what was the most fun!!

this is north america (my least favorite, because i couldn't think of anything to put on it, and with only three countries, it looks a bit bare!)

this is for the carribbean

asia (that's a fan and the taj mahal)

latin america (soccer ball and maracas!!)

the southwest pacific (includes australia, hence the kangaroo sign =))

this is europe with lots of countries!! and a closeup of st. basil's cathedral.

and last but not least, africa...and a closeup of mr. zebra

i pray that the world day of prayer is an awesome event for all those who are involved in planning one and all those attend, and that all the people prayed for on monday feel God's love!

a giveaway

2008-10-28T15:33:00.001-07:00

a blog that i read daily is hosting a giveaway of a great decorating book...go over to southernhospitality and check it out! rhoda has a great style, and is always posting great ideas!!

tagged

2008-10-28T14:31:00.000-07:00

janna tagged me to answer 7 things you never knew about me. i'm pretty open, so this is hard, but here goes:

1. i do not regret getting my first tattoo (yet!).
2. i like to listen to classical music sometimes.
3. one day i'd like to own a shop that sells custom invites, fun gifts, and crafty home decor items.
4. i love the tv show monk...i watch it every morning before work.
5. i google EVERYTHING...really, EVERYTHING!!
6. i have always challenged myself to be orderly in random things (coloring the pictures in coloring books in order, eating pudding cups in very small, methodical layers, walking the same route to get my mail every time)
7. i have dreams that seem like soap operas, where i dream about the same thing for weeks, but i can usually only remember a few vague things about them.

i tag anyone who reads this and has a blog =)

a sweet sunday, and a teaser!!

2008-10-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

what a blessing it is to hear loud and clear God's voice. in worship this morning the focus was colossians 3:1-17. the heading for this section is "rules for holy living"....sometimes we just need a reminder of what God expects from us. this morning i was very worshipful during the music, and felt God's prescence more than i have in a great while.

this afternoon was great, too...melissa came in for the afternoon, and i was able to meet her, janna, john, and alana for a quick lunch. when i got home i worked on laundry, and lots of it, and worked on some display boards i have been needing to get done...i will have pictures when i get them done, i'm excited with how they are turning out.

i also made this little ditty this afternoon....i moved cubicles at work last week, so i am redecorating my new one...going all out. this is just little preview=) more pictures when i get done!!
these flowers have been on my table for two weeks!! there were a lot more when i first got them, but these few are still going strong...i love fresh flowers =)

my mema's

2008-10-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

this coming thursday is my mema's birthday, so my mom and i made the treck to franklin on saturday to visit her! we went to the grocery store with her, and when we got back we had a great lunch of hamburgers and homemade french fries...yum!!
after lunch mom and i went looking for a couple of things and found this great quilt that mema said i could have. it is very faded and worn, but mema made it, so it is awesome!! mom said that when i spreaded it out it would probably be worn more on one side than the other because my grandfather tucked the covers up under his chin very tightly (which i do, too!), and sure enough she was right! so this quilt was one they used many years ago. i'm not quite sure what i'm going to do with it, since it's way to fragile to actually use, and i don't really have a bed that i don't use, but we'll see!

before we left, mom and i went out in the yard and picked some pears and apples off of mema's trees. i can't wait to eat them, i'm sure they'll be fabulous!!

happy birthday, mema!!

my little punkins =)

2008-10-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

friday night i got to have a little halloween party for three of my favorite people -- alana (3), clinton (almost 4), and max (1 1/2). we watched some veggie tales and backyardigans, ate pumpkin and ghost shaped pb&j's, colored scarecrows, decorated pumpkin cookies, painted faces and just generally had a ton of fun!!

mister max

clinton colors a mean scarecrow!

sweet alana

expert cookie decorators!

awww...we give our friends hugs!!

alana and clinton help clean up all the sprinkles!!

ghosts and kitties and pumpkins, oh, my!!

happy halloween!!

truly a blessing

2008-10-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

on friday, a very special lady in my life turned 60 years old. my best friend's mother, mrs. morel, (and mr. morel) has always gone above and beyond in order to welcome me into their home, love me, do for me, and make me feel like part of their family. they have both become very good friends, and i was honored to help plan mrs. morel's surprise party!!

janna is telling everyone that they are almost here...hush up now!

after months of planning and scheming (and lots of lies told by janna) the moment was here...

she was genuinely surprised...there was no doubt about that!!

these were the table decorations...festive but simple

my mom and i

the obligatory picture of the three amigos!!

we had everyone write a note to mrs. morel to share a special memory or let her know how she is a blessing in their life...

melissa and i with our second mom!

i just thought this was funny because i hit janna on the arm where she'd had two shots the day before...and mellie snapped the picture at just the right time!!

we all had a great time honoring a wonderful friend, mom, aunt, mamaw, niece, cousin, sister, sister-in-law, etc...happy birthday mrs. morel!!

first scrapblog!!

2008-10-16T19:36:00.001-07:00

acteens make me smile

2008-10-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

for the past 5 years i have had the distinct pleasure of leading a group of teenage girls in learning about, doing, and giving to missions. each week we meet to talk about missions work and missionaries here in the united states and around the world. often we do hands on missions at church and sometimes we even take to the streets!! below are some pictures of this past sunday when we went on a prayer walk in crieve hall.as we were standing on the corner, lifting up our community in prayer, i was very overwhelmed with emotion when i thought of what the people who would be driving by would think. would they think "what are those teenagers doing?", would they know what we were doing. if they did know, would they be happy or put off? i know that if i had seen a group of teenagers standing on a street corner praying i would have probably teared up...because i do that, but it would make me thankful to know that someone is praying for the world! i thank Jesus for these girls and that they have hearts for Him.

it's beginning to look a lot like....Christmas, really???

2008-10-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

so this weekend has been a blast. janna, melissa and i started talking about going away for a weekend this year before this year even started. janna and i both turned 30 this year and melissa will in 2009, so instead of gifts we wanted to do it up right!! we bid on and won a weekend stay at the wingate hotel in cool springs at an auction, so that was our home base friday and saturday night, which was very nice. friday night we went to the cheesecake factory and stopped at the walgreen's (with Christmas trees in the windows already!!!), then went back to the hotel and hung out.

saturday we stopped at several shops and just enjoyed each others company, as usual =) then met john to get alana and made our way to hill center for their fashion fair. we saw a couple of fashion shows, shopped some, had dinner at five guys and enjoyed the music very much!!

that night we went down town to go to the wildhorse, but they were having a concert we didn't want to pay $20, so we ventured around for a while and headed back to the hotel yet again. we just stayed up for a while visiting and watching tv, then got up sunday and lounged around the room for a while before meeting the morel's, alana and john for lunch corky's.

we had a great weekend, and i am very thankful for my two sister-friends!! here's to a great third - not thirtieth!! - decade!!

going to the chapel

2008-09-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

this is the church where my cousin got married last weekend. first united methodist clarion, pa...it is a very old church that has beautiful wood work and stained glass windows.

here is my aunt and uncle as they came into the reception

and andrew and jenessa sharing a dance

rock and roll!!

2008-09-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

so we got to ohio late last night...decent flight...thankful we made it safely! today our big activity was going to the rock and roll hall of fame and museum. it opened in 1996 in downtown cleveland right next to the browns football stadium and a science center. it's right on lake erie, so it was pretty chilly, but beautiful. this is the view as we were walking over to the hall.

this is a ship that is docked near the hall. my aunt said there is amuseum inside...i just thought it looked cool!!

this is right inside the main door...there are about 10 of these huge guitars all decorated by different people. i can't remember who did this one, but i really liked it...that's my mom and my aunt juanita.

these were hanging from the ceiling...it's raining cars!?!?!

we couldn't take pictures inside the exhibit areas, but they had some really cool stuff like michael jackson's glove, madonna's bustier, and lots of other really cool rock and roll artifacts!

this is landon...my cousin andrew's son. he had lots of fun looking at all the rock and roll stuff!! doesn't he looked thrilled!!!

we have had some good times already, just talking and laughing together. we leave early in the morning for pa to help decorate for the reception.

it's been too long...

2008-09-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

wow...it's been almost a month since i've posted on here. i've been busy with lots of different things lately...

acteens started back 4 or 5 weeks ago, and is going well. we made bibs last night for some special needs students that a girl at our church works with...it's always fun to do some hands-on missions work.

friday, 9/5 my friend lauren got married to keith...by far the best rainy wedding i've ever been to!! so happy for them...a sweet, sweet couple.

this past saturday was alana's third birthday party...the veggie tale party to end all veggie tale parties!! bob and larry cupcakes, patato spoon races, lots of veggie tales music....it was fantastic. alana was very excited about the party and very excited to open all the gifts..."that's for me!", she even "read" most of the cards...very sweet!! she is growing into such a smart little person. i am so thankful to be able to watch her grow, she is a very special part of my life! her actual birthday is sept. 20... next saturday. they switched the party since i am going out of town...i feel so special!!

i am leaving wednesday night to travel to cleveland, ohio with my mother. my cousin is getting married on saturday in clarion, pennsyvania, so we are staying with my aunt and uncle (mom's sister and brother-in-law) wednesday and thursday, then on friday we will all go to pennsylvania for the wedding festivities. andrew is my youngest cousin on my mom's side, he's six years younger than me. when he was a baby, we were so happy for my aunt and uncle, and so excited to have him in our family...he was like our little mascot or something. we all just loved on him all the time. when i was about 7 or so i remember that when i had trouble sleeping my mom would always say "think happy thoughts." andrew was always one of my happy thoughts. kind of silly, but hey, i was 7!! hopefully we will have a safe and fun trip...and hopefully my mom won't get on nerves too bad...just kidding =)

plans

2008-08-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

jeremiah 29:11-14 says "for I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord. "plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. plans to give you hope and a future. you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. you will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and I will bring you back from captivity..."

this was our lesson in sunday school today, and one that i needed. i have been in funky place the past couple of weeks...i have not been letting God show me what He has for me. i have been depriving myself of the blessings He promises...and today was a beautiful reminder that He is there, if i will only listen and walk in faith with Him. someone also said today, that He is waiting to bless you, but you have to do something for Him to bless....sometimes comments like this are so simple, yet so profound. of course he can't bless what you are doing if you aren't doing anything!!!

may you seek Him and find Him, and His plans for your future!!!

~princess alana~

2008-08-16T08:51:00.001-07:00

so last night i had the distinct pleasure of hosting the lovely princess alana at my home! we had a most lovely time!!

the painting of the nails...

beautiful!!

auntie kacy's turn!

very careful!! she did a great job keeping the paint on the magazine.CHEEEEEEEEESE!

weekends

2008-08-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

so it's monday...again!! why is it that some weekends i feel like i need to come back to work to get some rest, and others, i feel like a complete sloth!! this weekend i did pretty much nothing!! i mean, i did some laundry, clean the kitchen, worked sat. night, went to a planning meeting at church yesterday, washed my car, and went to the grocery store....but i had a lot more things on my never ending list that i didn't do. when i list all the stuff like that, i feel a little better, but i know i could have gotten a lot more things done than i did!! some weekends i am so productive, nothings going to stop me, i surprise myself with how much i get done, and then some weekends, it's all i can do to get up in the morning!! i guess that's just how it goes!! i hope to get some things done (house cleaning-wise) in the evenings this week so i can do some crafty things next weekend!!

i've been crafting!!

2008-07-25T19:51:00.001-07:00

here are three projects i have done this summer...just wanted to share =)

i got this table and chairs at the flea market at the end of june...the chairs are actually pretty comfortable, but the paint was rusty and, well...boring...

so i re-vamped it..how fun is that? it only took two cans of spray paint and about 1/2 a yard of fabric!! i love sitting out there for breakfast and reading, or working on my computer!! next i decided to add a little excitement to my laundry area...

i saw this project of craftster.org, so i thought it'd be fun to try and liven up my little laundry closet!! i mean, who wouldn't love to do laundry with these on the walls!! they are laundry instruction symbols...these are 'wash cold' and 'line dry' these are 'iron medium heat' and 'bleach'
ok, here is the last one...i found this old birdcage in my mema's basement on mother's day...it was very rusty and she had stuffed some other old junk into it. when i asked her if i could have it she said "what would you want with that old thing?" i sanded it really well and put a good coat of paint on it and now it's a fun plant container!!

beautiful!!

2008-07-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

here are the pics i said i would post from the fabulous wedding of valerie and patrick...here is the happy couple and her beautiful cake!

here is the pole barn that they used for the reception. this is valerie's parent's land, and her mom did a lot of work preparing this area (like having the floor of the barn concreted, and planting all kinds of flower beds around the area). it was a beautiful day, everything was perfect!!
here is the group of jack in the box folks that attended..from l to r: aimee, sharon, valerie, dan, maria, me, melissa, gail.

congrats to the newly weds =)

i made an apron!!

2008-07-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

so i have an apron that a dear friend gave me a few years ago with some beautiful embrodary on it. every time i wear it, i try not to get it dirty...kind of defeats the purpose, huh!?!? so i decided to make another one out of some fabric i already had...so it didn't cost a thing!!

keep in mind that i can sew a little, but i no where near great at it, but i do enjoy it from time to time!! here are the pictures (thanks maria for capturing the action shot =))

this is a close-up of the applique...i will keep working this...i like applique, but this is the first time i've ever done it!

don't be surprised if an apron is your next gift from me =)

at mema's

2008-07-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

i am sitting in the living room of my grandmother's house in franklin...good times!! i love being here, i love just listening to my mom, her sister, and mema talking about people...people i don't know, and probably never will, but they just talk. i love looking at the field and the yard and all the things that have been here for my whole life...it's very comforting! in a world that is always changing and when new things are always being built, it's nice to be able to come here and just take in God's creation. the best is in the summer when it's dark, the field in front of mema's house will be filled with lightening bugs, and it looks like a million twinkling lights...a beautiful show just for me!
just a bit of nostalgia...do you have a place like that?

prayers

2008-07-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

we all know prayers work, i feel like i know a lot of folks who need them right now.

a friend at church, paula, her mom is pretty sick, and right now they are waiting on tests to find out what's going on. she has several medical problems and has just been very sick lately. please pray for some clarity in the test so that they will be able to get a plan of action together.

maria, who i lead acteens with, had an accident on her boat this past weekend, and fell on something that injured her tail bone/rectum. she had surgery yesteday and is doing well, just keep her family, the cooks, in your prayers as she is recovering.

debbie, who also leads acteens with us, her husband is searching for a job, and is having to work nights right now, which is a huge adjustment for them. i pray for a short job search and that God will lead bill to the right job, and that the two of them will be able to endure the yucky schedule they are living with now.

karen, in my sunday school class is going through chemo for breast cancer right now. she is absolutely the most graceful woman i have known while going through treatment. she is very hopeful, and seems very "matter of fact" about the whole thing. i pray for her doctors and her family, and that if she needs to, that she have people that she can be raw with about this. i've not gone through it myself, but know those who have, and cannot imagine the fear/anger/questions that one would have.

pray for me as i am struggling with some things this week... i am ok, i just know that i could be better, and i am trying hard to work on that, but satan is trying hard for me not to.

i know there are others, these are just the ones that have been weighing on my heart today.

busy saturday!

2008-06-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

so this past saturday was much fun!! in the morning i met melissa, john, janna and alana for breakfast and then we went to the farmer's market and bicentennial mall...

this is alana being silly at breakfast!! the farmer's market was much fun, as we just looked around all of the beautiful fresh produce and the fake designer purses...that's always fun. i got some cherries and peaches..very yummy!!

after the farmer's market i went to ava grace's first birthday party...boy does that little girl have lots of folks that love her!! it was a great party just watching her enjoying all the people!

after that i went to probably one of the prettiest weddings ever!! valerie, a girl i work with, got married in pulaski, tn on her family farm. her mom took a pole barn (a barn with no walls) and poured concrete on the floor of it. that's where the reception was...there was fabric draped on the poles and lots of flowers every where. the kids were playing in the creek right beside the barn...it was so lovely!! i will get some pictures up soon (they're at home, and i'm a work right now).

do you journal?

2008-06-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

do you? i have off and on from time to time since i was in high school...the longest was when i was 19-20 or so. i actually filled up two spiral notebooks, and during that time it almost seemed like things in my life weren't real unless they were written in my journal. about 3 months ago i started writing everyday. sometimes it is a prayer, sometimes just a list of what i did that day, sometimes a few pages about things that are going on. the only rule i have about my journal is that every page doesn't have to look the same. i used to get hung up on making it look perfect, but now i have let go of that. if i want to draw or doodle or write quotes, scriptures, lists, whatever....it's ok! i have slacked off on writing the past few weeks and a friend encouraged me to pick it back up, which i finally did today. just putting pen to paper makes me feel calm for some reason. so pick up a pen and get to writin'!!

time flies when you're having fun!!

2008-06-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

so the past couple of weeks have been out of control!! i have been flying by the seat of pants!! it has been lots of fun, but very tiring!!

a couple of weeks ago at work we had a shower for valerie, who is getting married this weekend...this is her in the famous pink feather boa that has been a part of three bachelorette parties at work:

the rest of that weekend was lunch with the girls......andrea's bachelorette party(fun times!!)...

...and max's first birthday

the next week (last week) at work was a pretty big meeting that i had a big part in planning...here are some pics from that!

there was a monkey theme and a worker at the hotel even asked if we were having a party for a daycare!! after the meeting we did some team building at dave and buster's (yes that's me on ddr) and then went to the general jackson. it was an absolute blast, but i was completely exhausted!!
the weekend was busy, too...worked friday night and went to andrea's wedding on sat. night. it was beautiful and she was beautiful, we had a great time. we took pics with brittni's camera and i don't have those yet. i'm glad this week has not been quite as tiring, i have gotten back to some semblance of routine and am resting up.

mister max turns one!!

2008-06-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

maxwell todd milliken is a year old already!?!?! it seems like only yesterday i was runnung around the hospital with the camera attached to my hand taking tons of pics on his birth day like this one...

here is a pic of him 2 haircuts, a few teeth and 11 months later...

happy birthday mister max...i love you!!

home at last!

2008-06-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

so i am finally home from house/dog sitting. don't get me wrong...i am very glad i was able to do it, but it sure is nice to be home!! even better is that my house is clean (sadly, a rare occurance lately). maggie, bless her heart, has been all over me tonight. she is just starved for attention, poor kitty!
this weekend is going to be a whirlwind...tomorrow afternoon at work we are having a little shower/party for valerie, who is getting married in a couple of weeks, then i am working tomorrow night so i will be able to go to andrea's bachelorette party sat. night. i am meeting corrie and janna for lunch sat., then to the party. sunday is church, then max's bday party, then"movie" night at danica's...whew...it's slightly tiring just thinking about it!! how blessed i am, though to have great friends to do all this stuff with!! i will try to get it together enough to grab my camera and post some pics of all the happenings=)
much love~

the dogs...

2008-06-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

these are the dogs i've been living with the past week...

taylor-the only boy, and the old, wise one of the group. he has a sweet spirit.

fargo-she's spunky. she always barks when it's time to go outside, and if you tell her to go get the mail, she will walk to the mailbox and wait for you, then walk right back to the house...that's a smart one!

dakota-she is the protector of the bunch. she is very territorial, and growled at me one time when i tried to lay in the bed (she was laying where i wanted to be)...very well behaved otherwise, though!

hershey-she's the baby, and a hurricane katrina rescue dog. she is definitely still a puppy (likes to play and jump)...she is the only one that stays in a kennel during the day, and she's really good about it. you just tell her "go get in your bed" and in she goes, no fuss!

a few pics

2008-06-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

so someone told me that i needed to put some pictures up here. i am still dog sitting, and i don't have my camera, so below are just some recent pics from my fabulous life =P

for kim's bday (may 6) i took some pictures of clinton and max

this is mema and my mom on mother's day. one of our recent traditions is that we take pictures of the three of us each mother's day...i didn't like the one with me it, so this is what you get =)

this is an orange blossom at the edge of mema's porch...she has always had an amazing green thumb!

absolutely the most impressive thing i've seen in a while...melissa killed the limbo at janna's bday party and luau...just another reason why i love her so much =) how low can ya go?

little miss alana was pretty good, too i might add!! i love that she is at the age where she mimics people. oh, the joys of being young! oh, the joys of watching the young!

so there you have it...a few pictures of some of my favorite things...i hope you enjoy them as much as i do!

memories

2008-06-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

so i finished 33 pages this weekend...not too shabby! before last weekend i had not really scrapbooked for about two years (since i started at trevecca). i know this may sound silly, but i feel like i am back among the living, now! when i scrapbook events that mean something to me, it makes them real, and not having committed any of the many events of the past three years to an album was very strange to me. when i am able to reflect on the people and happenings in my life i am so much more greatful for them. looking at the time when alana was born, and how thankful we all were that she was ok, having been born 6 weeks early...looking at pictures of "my" acteens and all of the work we (meaning they) have done...looking at the many cards loved ones have sent me for my birthday and Christmas (even though I've been a slacker the past few years in that area!!)...these things remind me that God has surrounded me with incredible people who love Him. thank you Father God for all of the wonderful people in my life who love you, and in turn love those around them!

so, my house/dog sitting gig is almost up... i think the doggy owners are coming home tomorrow (my co-worker's sister passed away friday, and the funeral is this morning). i know the pups are glad they will be home because even though i take pretty good care of them, i'm sure it's not the same!!

the count so far

2008-06-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

so i know everyone is on the edge of their seats wanting to know how much scrapping has been done....20 pages!! not bad for friday night and saturday until about 4:30 (i worked last night). it has been nice to look back over pictures that are almost 3 years old now...from right around when alana was born through the end of 2005. my goal for today is 2006, so we shall see!

it's a rainy day here in columbia, where i am doggy sitting taylor, fargo, dakota, and hershey. hopefully the rain will stop at some point so they can spend some time outside today!

this weekend's a scrap!!!

2008-05-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

ever since i moved into my condo last september (wow, i cannot believe it's been 9 months already!), one of my goals has been to organize my craft room. finally last weekend, with the incentive that danica was coming to scrapbook on monday, i organized the entire closet including the ridiculous amount of scrapbook paper i came across! i was so inspired by my new clean room that i stayed up until 2am on sunday and started on an album of my graduation last may! i worked on it all day monday and finished it about 9:30, and started working on something else! i am definitely "in the zone!" when i got the call on thursday morning that my co-worker's sister (who has been struggling with cancer) was not going to make it through the weekend, and they needed me to doggy sit this weekend, i promptly loaded my newly organized scrapbooking materials into my car (and some clothes). i am looking forward to a weekend of scrapping.

i am praying for sharon and her family, that her sister have as painless a passing as possible, and that when her time does come, the family be able to find some peace in the fact that their loved one will not live in earthly pain any longer.

i hope everyone has a good one!

called to love

2008-05-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

those of you who know me know that i love missions and missionaries. last night the wmu (missions) lead team met and we were introduced to the slogan for this year...called to love. i am so excited about this, and am praying that God does wonderful things through our group and our church in the coming months. God calls each of us to love as He loves. we say we love things and people all the time, but do we really? i love purses, i love decorating, and i love ice cream. do i love these things unconditionally, passionately, and undyingly? i don't think so! this is what God calls us to do...love with the love of Christ. Christ loved me enough to die a horrendous death on a cross at the hands of people who ridiculed him horribly. with the exception of my mother, and a very few close friends, i do not know that i would do that for anyone. let alone for a whole world full of people, many who curse my name and don't even believe in me. i am on a journey right now, of learning how to love myself on real and deep level, thus learning how to love others in that manner. i know that God will continue to love me through this, and i pray for discernment and courage to carry out His plan for me. thank you Father God, for being my strength and my fortress as i work to be the me You want me to be!